Baseball / Astros Even Series; Force Game 3 Monday

Astros Even Series; Force Game 3 Monday

Date:  Source: Sunbelt Baseball League

BROOKHAVEN – The Norcross Astros (20-15) scored seven runs on 13 hits and held off a furious rally from the Brookhaven Bucks (20-12) to win 7-4 Saturday at Oglethorpe University and force Game 3 in the Sunbelt Championship.

The Astros were led on offense by Ashton Shepherd, who went 3-for-5 with one RBI and two runs, and Alex Rosen, who had two hits, including a two-run homer in the second, and three RBI.  For Brookhaven, Andrew Jenkins went 2-for-4, including a three-run homer in the fourth.

After Brookhaven tied the game 3-3 on Jenkins homer, the Astros led off the fifth with consecutive singles by Ryan Cavey and Cord Johnson.  A sacrifice bunt moved both into scoring position, and then Max Schmal put Norcross up 4-3 with a single into right field that scored Cavey.

The Astros increased their lead to 7-3 with one run in the eighth and two in the ninth, setting the stage for Brookhaven’s rally in the home half.  With the bases loaded and no outs, Zavier Lushington pulled the Bucks within 7-4 on a sacrifice fly into right field.  Kevin Kilpatrick popped out to shallow center field for the second out, and then CJ Edmond walked to load the bases again.  But Patrick Taylor struck out swinging to end the game.

Max Schmal (2-2) earned the win for Norcross with four innings of scoreless, hitless relief.

The Astros jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a run in the first on a single by Justin Russell for his league-best 29th RBI.  The lead increased to 3-0 on Rosen’s two-run homer off Bucks starter Austin Hunter (2-3) into left field.

Game 3 of the Sunbelt Championship will be played at Oglethorpe University Monday.  First pitch is at 6:30 p.m.  The winner will be crowned the 2019 Sunbelt Champion.